Shuttle-controlling apparatus for weaving looms



Feb. 25, 1969 v SVA-r? ET AL 3,429,344

SHUTTLE-CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR WEAVING LOOMS Filed sept. 9, 1966sheet of's Feb. 25, 1969 v SVAT? ET'AL 3,429,344

SHUTTLE-CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR WEAVING LOOMS Filed Sept 9. 1966 Sheet2 of 40 gjg Feb. 25, 1969 v, SVAT? ET AL 3,429,344

SHUTTLE-CONTROLLING APPARATUS FOR WEAVING LOOMS Filed Sept. 9. 1966Sheet ,3 of C5 United States Patent m 3,429,344 SHUTTLE-CONTROLLINGAPPARATUS FOR WEAVING LOOMS Vladimir Svaty, Jan Bilek, and JiriZlatohlavek, Liberec, Czechoslovakia, assignors to Elitex, Zavodytextilniho Strojirenstvi, Liberec, Czechoslovakia Filed Sept. 9, 1966,Ser. No. 578,317 Claims priority, application Czechoslovakia, Sept. 11,1965, 5,612/65 U.S. Cl. 139-144 2 Claims Int. Cl. D03d 49/24, 49/48,51/40 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates toWeaving looms.

In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatusfor controlling the operation of a shuttle of a weaving loom.

Thus, the present invention deals with that part of the loom mechanismwhich provides for reliable determination of all of the desiredoperating positions of the shuttle when it reaches the end of one of itsstrokes of movement and when it is to be driven along its next stroke ofmovement. This part of the loom includes structure for damping themovement of the shuttle at the end of one of its strokes, for sensingthe timing of the arrival of the shuttle at the end of one of itsstrokes, for returning the shuttle from the end of one of its strokes tothe beginning of its next stroke in preparation for movement of theshuttle again through the shed, and finally for reliably starting thedrive of the shuttle along its next stroke at the proper instant.

All of these operations are conventionally carried out by means ofdifferent well known mechanisms each of which forms a unitary,structurally independent mechanism having its own driving structure. Thedisadvantage of these conventional features resides in the fact that theentire device is exceedingly complex and full of inconveniences, notonly in its construction, but also in its operation.

'Ihe basic problem encountered during each operating cycle of theshuttle resides in the requirements that the shuttle have a high speedof movement through the shed and that the shuttle be reliably stoppedwhen it completes its movement through the shed. It is of advantage toprovide a construction where the device which provides for movement ofthe shuttle also reliably controls the remaining essential operatingfunctions such as, for example, the damping of the movement of theshuttle upon arrival thereof at the end of one of its strokes, thecontrol of the damping structure, the sensing of the timing of thearrival of the shuttle at the end of a stroke thereof, and finally, thepositioning of the shuttle from the end of one of its strokes into theproper position for beginning the next stroke thereof, and the like.

These various operations must be carried out accurately andsatisfactorily, and it is not desirable to achieve the requiredoperations by the use of springs the operation of which is notcontrollable, so that by avoiding the use of springs inaccurate settingsand determinations of the indi- 3,429,344 Patented Feb. 25, 1969 vidualpositions and damaging of the individual mechanisms as well as excessiveinterruptions in operation of the loom can be avoided.

One of the important problems encountered with Weaving looms is theaccuracy with which the shuttle comes to a stop at the end of one of itsstrokes. Insofar as it is possible to provide a reliable constructionand arrangement of a suciently satisfactory braking structure, theresidual kinetic energy of the shuttle at the end of its stroke can beproperly braked. A complicated problem is encountered in those casesWhere, from the standpoint of the basic construction itself, for examplein the case of rotary control of the shuttle at the end of one of itsstrokes, it is not possible to brake the entire kinetic energy of theshuttle and it is therefore necessary to absorb the remaining part ofthe energy with a damping mechanism such as a suitable variablehydraulic orice structure or the like. In certain conventionalconstructions, inaccuracies in the damping and positioning of theshuttle as well as rebounding components are encountered whichundesirably influence the required cycles of operation and lead toimproper operations. y

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method andapparatus which will avoid all of the above drawbacks.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide amethod and apparatus which will eliminate all of the constructive andoperational complications, the mounting diiliculties, and the operationfailures encountered with known methods and apparatus, while at the sametime providing reliable operation of the loom.

In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide a methodaccording to which all of the controlling operations are carried out inresponse to a single uniform movement of a controlling structure.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a rst singleunitary supporting structure for all elements which do not movelaterally with respect to the loom as well as a second single unitarysupporting structure for those elements which do carry out movementslaterally of the loom, and in addition it is an object of the inventionto provide a single cam means from which the laterally movablecomponents are all controlled so that only the second supportingstructure need be lmoved with the structure of the present inventionfrom the single cam means in order to carry out all of the requiredcontrols.

In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide for astructure of the above type an adjusting mechanism which enables thestructure to adapt itself to different weaving widths.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to considerablysimplify the structure of conventional looms while at the same timegreatly increasing the reliability of the operation thereof, so that thefrequency with which the loom operations must be terminated in order totake care of problems encountered during loom operation can be reducedto a minimum with the method and apparatus of the present invention.

In one of its aspects, the invention resides mainly in a modification ofa basically known loom arrangement in which a first mechanism brakes themovement of a shuttle at one end of the path thereof through the shed, asecond ymechanism senses the timed arrival of the shuttle at this endportion and stops the loom if the shuttle is not sensed, and a thirdmechanism controls the drive system for returning the shuttle to theother end of its path.

According to the invention, a brake member of the rst mechanism ismovably mounted on a support for movement toward and away from a shuttleengaging position in which the brake member intercepts the movement ofthe shuttle and moves with the shuttle while the same is being braked. Asensing member of the second mechanism is mounted on the same supportfor movement toward and away from the end portion of the shuttle path,and means are provided for stopping the loom in response to apredetermined movement of the sensing member toward that end portion.The third mechanism includes a catch member which is guided on the samesupport between respective positions in which the catch member restrainsand releases the shuttle drive.

An operating member is connected to the brake member, sensing member,and catch member for joint movement and constitutes the sole connectionbetween the three mechanisms and the drive shaft of the loom which isconnected to the operating member by a cam system causing the operatingmember to move back and forth when the shaft rotates.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanyingdrawings which form part of this application and in which:

FIG. 1 is a partly sectional, schematic elevation of one possibleembodiment of a structure according to the invention, the structurewhich is sectionally illustrated in FIG. 1 having the section thereoftaken in a plane which contains the axis of the shuttle drivingstructure; and

FIGS. 2-9 schematically illustrate successive stages in the operationsof the components of FIG. l.

Referring to FIG. l, there is fragmentarily illustrated therein areed-carrying frame 1 which is conventional and which is supported forswinging movement on and with respect to a rotary shaft 2 which extendstransversely across the loom. This reed-carrying frame will in a wellknown manner swing back and forth about the axis of the shaft 2, whilethe latter shaft 2 carries out a rotary movement to bring about variouscontrols. This rotary shaft 2 is supported by the stationary loom frame53. A support means 3 is carried by the frame 1 and in turn carries allof the components for bringing about the control of the driving of theshuttle 4. The support means 3 is laterally adjustable along thereed-carrying frame 1, so that the structure can be adapted to theWeaving of webs of different widths, and for this purpose the frame 1 isformed with an elongated slot 5 through which a fixing screw 6 extends,this screw being threaded into the support means 3 for fixing the latterat an adjusted position laterally of the loom. Once the adjustedposition of the support means 3 is fixed by way of the screw 6 and withrespect to the frame 1, the support means 3 remains ixedly mounted onthe frame 1.

The support means 3 includes a body 7 which carries a pressure cylinder8 in which a piston 9 of a shuttle driving means reciprocates, thispiston 9 being xed with a piston rod 10 which extends to the left, asviewed in FIG. 1, through a suitable guide sleeve carried by the body 7.At its left free end, as viewed in FIG. l, the piston rod 10 forms apusher member 11 for moving and positioning the shuttle 4 as well as fortransmitting the driving power thereto.

The pressure cylinder 8 supports for sliding movement not only thepiston 9 but also guides a second piston 12 which is formed with anaxial bore 13 and which ixedly carries a pair of arms 14 which sideswith the piston 12 in the cyiinder 8. A pin 15 extends between and isxedly carried by the arms 14, and on this pin 15 a pair of catch levers16 are freely swingable in opposed directions, respectively, so as toform a tong-like structure. The pair of catch levers 16 respectivelyhave left jaws 17 received in a hollow interior space 18 which is formedin the piston 9. The piston 9 is provided at its end which is directedtoward the piston 12 with an inwardly directed annular flange 19 havingan inner conical surface and coacting with the jaws 17 in the mannermore fully described in our simultaneously tiled application Ser. No.578,200. The cylinder 8 iixedly carries in its interior between thepiston 9 and the piston 12 a control Cil ring 20 which at its end, thatis directed toward the piston 9, is formed at its inner periphery withan annular, conical control surface 21. This surface coacts with controlsurfaces 22 at the ends of the catch levers 16 which are distant fromtheir holding jaws 17.

Compressed air is directed in the direction of the arrow P1 through thebore 13 of the piston 12 into the space 23 between the pistons 12 and 9.The space 24 which is situated at the piston rod side of the piston 9receives compressed air in the direction of the arrow P2 through thepassage 25 which is formed in body 7, and this latter compressed airwhich ows through the passage 25 in the direction of the arrow P2 isused for returning the piston 9 to its initial position while, duringdriving of the piston 9 toward the left, as viewed in FIG. l, a suitableunillustrated valving structure opens the passage 25 to permit air tomove out of the chamber 24 whose volume is diminishing at this time.These components serve to terminate the movement of the shuttle at theend of one of its strokes as well as to position the shuttle at thebeginning of its next stroke and to drive the shuttle along its nextstroke.

The damping or -braking of the movement of the shuttle 4 at the end ofone of its movements is provided by way of a plunger 26 in the nature ofan anvil against which the shuttle strikes at the end of a strokethereof upon moving out of the shed. This plunger 26 is slidable in abore 27 which is formed in the body 7, and a pin 28 connects the plunger26 with a slide block 29 slidable in a vertical groove 30 which isformed in a lever arm 31, so that in this way the anvil plunger 26 isoperatively connected with the lever 31. This lever 31 is supported forswinging movement by a pin 32 which is iixedly carried .by the body 7,and a suitable friction brake 33 of any known construction is xed withthe lever 31 to control the swinging movement thereof. The lower end 34of the lever 31 extends alongside of a roller 49 and provides a rollingsurface which is engaged by the roller 49.

A yblock 3S is fixed to and extends upwardly from the body 7 and isformed with an axial bore in which a guide sleeve 36 is xed. Anelongated rod 37 extends slidably through the sleeve 36 to be guidedthereby. The left end of the rod 37, as viewed in FIG. 1, carries aprojection 38 which at its right end is of a frusto-conical congurationand which at its left end is of a cylindrical configuration, and thisprojection 38 serves as a releasable holding means coacting with aprojection 39 at the right end of a. lever 40 which forms part of asensing or scanning means for determining whether or not the shuttle 4is present at the end of its stroke in properly timed relation with themovement of the other components.

The lever 40 of the scanning means is in the form of a two-armed leverpivotally carried by a pivot pin 41 which is iixed to the body 7. At itsleft end, the lever 40 carries a scanning or sensing member 42 which isturnable on a pivot pin 43 iixed to the left end of the lever 40. Aspring which engages the body 7 urges the lever 40 to turn in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, and the release means38 moves with the rod 37 to the left during the operations so as to besituated beyond the projection 39 to release the lever 40 for turningmovement by the spring so as to displace the scanning member 42downwardly into engagement with the shuttle 4. The parts are shown inFIG. l where the releasable holding means 38 has in fact moved to theleft `beyond the projection 39 so that the spring has turned the lever40 to place the scanner 42 in engagement with the shuttle 4. Theswinging of the lever 40 at this time causes it to open the switch 44 soas to stop the operation of the loom. The loom will also stop operatingat this time if it should happen that the scanner 42 does not sense thepresence of the shuttle 4, so that in the event that the shuttle 4 doesnot reach the end of its stroke at the proper moment the machine willalso be stopped. The return of the rod 37 to the right to its restposition causes the projection 38 to engage the projection 39 and lournthe lever 40` in a clockwise direction, thus closing the switch 44 andagain starting the operation of the loom.

The rod 37, which controls the movement of the mechanism for sensing thepresence of the shuttle at the end of its stroke, as well as the piston12 are connected with unitary operating member `45 which is xedlycarried by the piston 12 so that the supporting of the piston 12 by thecylinder 8 and the carrying of the latter by the body 7 of the supportmeans 3 provides .a support for the movable operating member 45 by wayof the support means 3 which is carried by the frame 1. Thus, themovement of the operating member 45 back and forth to the right and leftWill cause simultaneous displacement of the rod 37 and the piston 12 tothe right and left.

The lower left end of the operating member 45 Xedly carries a pin 46 onwhich the roller 49 turns, and this pin 46 also serves to pivotallyconnect to the movable operating member 45 a lever 47 of a cam means ofthe invention which controls all of the structure. This lever 47 is atwo-armed lever which is supported for turning movement by a pin 48carried by the support means 3, so that this support means 3 also servesto support the cam means which forms the single control means of theinvention. At a predetermined moment during an operating cycle, theroller 49 will come into engagement with the bottom end 34 of the lever31. At its lower end the lever 47 carries a follower roller 50, and aspring 51 acts on the lever 47 to urge it in a clockwise direction, asviewed in FIG. l, so as to maintain follower roller 50 constantly inengagement with the camming surface of a cam 52.

This cam 52 is carried by the rotary shaft 2 which is supported by theWall 53 of the stationary frame of the loom. The shaft 2 is formed withan axial groove 54 and the cam 52 is longitudinally adjustable along theshaft 2 and is capable of having its position thereon fixed by Way of asuitable setscrew or the like passing through the cam 52 and received inthe groove 54. In this way the lateral position of the cam 52 can beadapted to the lateral position of the support means 3 on thereed-carrying frame 1.

The above described structure operates in the following manner:

As the shuttle 4 reaches the end of its path from the left to the rightside of the loom, the right side being illustrated in FIG. 1, the fronttip of the shuttle 4 strikes against the anvil plunger 26 so as toactuate the frictiondamping structure formed by the lever arm 31. Thefrictional resistance to turning of the lever 31 brings the shuttle to acomplete stop. This is the position of the parts indicated schematicallyin FIG. 2. At this time during the operating cycle the piston 9 and thepiston rod 10 are held in their right end position because the jaws 17of the catch levers 16 are open and are situated within the hollowinterior of the piston 9 engaging the ange 19 thereof. As a result ofthe movement of the cam 52 and the lever 47 the laterally movableoperating member 45 remains also in its right end position holding therod 37 and the piston 12 in their right end positions.

The continued turning of the cam 52 turns the lever 47 in acounterclockwise direction, in opposition to the spring 51, displacingthe operating member 45 tothe left, so that the rod 37 moves to the leftto displace the releasable holding means 38 to the left beyond theprojection 39 so that the lever 40 is turned by the spring which actsthereon in a counterclockwise direction to displace the scanner 42downwardly so as to sense whether or not the shuttle 4 has arrived atthe end of its stroke at the proper moment. This is the position of theparts shown in FIG. 3. In the event that the shuttle 4 has not arrivedat the end of its stroke at the proper moment, the loom operation willremain at a standstill by reason of the fact that the switch 44 willremain open. 1f the shuttle 4 does reach the end of its stroke at theproper moment,

then, as the frame 1 swings around the shaft 2 the piston rod 10 isbrought into alignment With the shuttle 4 while the plunger 26 is movedaway from the latter, and the advancing of the piston 12 to the left atthis time causes the rod 10` to advance to the left so as to engage theshuttle 4 with the end 11 of the piston rod 10. This movement of thepiston rod 10 to the left at this time is transmitted by engagement Withthe shuttle 4 t-o the latter so as to advance the shuttle 4 `from theend of its stroke back to a position for the beginning of the nextstroke. The counterclockwise turning of the lever 47 at this time actsnot only to produce the above operations but also to place the roller 49in engagement with the lower end 34 of the arm 31, so that at the sametime the arm 31 is returned to its initial position.

The configuration of the cam 52 is such that during its continuedturning movement at this time, with the rotary shaft 2, it permits thespring 51 to turn the lever 47 through a relatively small angle in aclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. l, with the result that thepiston rod 101, which has now returned the shuttle 4 to the startinglocation for the next stroke, is moved to the right to the positionindicated in FIG. 4 so as not to interfere with the turning of theshuttle 4, so that the front end thereof will be directed toward theshed in preparation for the next stroke of the shuttle. In this way areliable turning of the shuttle 4 can be carried out. This turningaround of the shuttle is carried out in a well known manner which is notillustrated and does not form part of the present invention.

During the next operating phase, while the shuttle 4 is turned throughto the position of FIG. 5, all of the structure shown in the drawingsand described above remains stationary, and it is during this time thata new charge of weft yarn is also introduced into the shuttle inpreparation for the next stroke.

The turning of the cam 52 and the lever 47 Will now again move thepiston rod 10 to the left, so that its pusher end 11 engages the rearend of the shuttle 4, and the parts are shown in this position in FIG.6l. In this way the axial space between the shuttle 4 and the piston rod10 shown in FIG. 5 is eliminated, so that at the beginning of thedriving of the shuttle there will be no unnecessary impact due tostriking of the rod 10 against the rear end portion of the shuttle.

During the lfurther movement of the support means 45 to the left, thepiston 12 moves to the left together with the levers 16 in the interiorof the ring 20. As a result of the compressed air which enters throughthe axial bore 13 of the piston 12 in the direction of the arrow'Pl, assoon as the levers 16 move sufficiently beyond the ring 20 to the left,as viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8, the compressed air will be capable of movingthe piston 9 to the left beyond the jaws 17 with the inner`frusto-conical surface of the anges 19 acting on the jaws 17 to`displace them toward each other while the rear ends of the levers 16move apart from each other, as permitted by their location to the leftof the ring 20. In this way the compressed air is capable of advancingthe piston 9 to the left beyond the jaws 17, as is apparent from acomparison of FIGS. 7 and 8, and the catch levers 16 are displaced, bythe action of the compressed air on the piston 9 itself, to theirrelease position releasing the piston `9 and the rod 10 to the force ofthe compressed air in the chamber 23. This compressed air which entersthe chamber 23 in the direction of the arrow P1 provides a rapid,Aforceful driving of the piston 9 and the rod 10 to the left, so thatthe end 11 of the rod 10 by its engagement with the shuttle 4 drives thelatter through the shed of warp yarns. The nal phase of the movement ofthe piston 9 is indicated in FIG. 8. The catch levers 16 at thisoperating phase are in their left end positions where the jaws 17 areclosed and await the return of the piston 9.

The return of the piston 9 to that position where its hollow interior 18receives the jaws 17 of the catch levers 16 is brought about by theintroduction of compressed air in the direction of the arrow P2 throughthe passage 25 into the chamber 24 formed at the piston rod side of thepiston 9, and in this way the piston 9 is moved back toward its startingposition, receiving the jaws 17 in its hollow interior. When the jaws 17are received in the hollow piston A9, the cam 52, by its continuedturning movement, permits the spring 51 to act on the lever 47 to turnit in a clockwise direction, thus moving the operating member 45together with the piston 12 and the rod 37 to the right, back towardtheir initial positions. The action of the compressed air on the rearsurface of the piston 9 in the chamber 24 causes the piston 9 to move tothe right together with the jaws 17 which remain in the interior of thepiston 9, and during this phase of the movement the right ends of thelevers 1-6 coact at their control surfaces 22 with the control surface21 of the ring 20 so as to cause the latter to turn the jaws 17 apartfrom each other into engagement with the ange 19 for again restrainingthe piston 9 in its starting position. The parts are shown in thisposition in FIG. 9 which is the basic starting position of the apparatuswhere it is in readiness to again receive the shuttle 4 when it returnsto the right side of the loom. From this moment, which represents theend of a complete operating Cycle, the above described operations arerepeated.

It is apparent from the above description that with the single uniformmovement of the operating member 45 not only is the shuttle 4 displacedfrom the position it assumes at the end of one stroke into its startingposition for the next stroke and the sensing of proper arrival of theshuttle at the right moment at the end of its stroke simultaneouslydetermined by the scanner 42, but in addition this movement of theoperating member 45 brings about the advancing of the shuttle along itsnext stroke by means of the piston rod and the compressed air, andfurthermore the single movement of the operating member 45 during eachoperating cycle brings about the return of the friction-damping lever 31into its starting position.

It is to be noted that all of those elements which do not move laterallyof the loom and which act to damp the movement of the shuttle 4 at theend of its stroke and to sense Whether or not the timing of the shuttleis proper (such as the pivot pin 32 which carries the lever 31, thepivot pin 41 which carries the lever 40, and the blocks 35 which carriesthe guide sleeve 36) are carried by the body 7 of the support means 3and for-m a first group of elements carried by this support means 3 soas to remain at laterally xed positions on the loom. The elements whichmove laterally of the loom (such as the rod 37, the piston 12, and theroller 49) are all mounted on the operating member -45 or operativelyconnected thereto, and the control for all of these mechanisms isderived from the single cam means formed by the cam 52, the lever 47,and the spring y51. The lateral adjustment of the support means 3provided by way of the slot 5 and the screw 6 in the manner describedabove enables the entire structure to have its position changed so thatit can be adapted to the weaving of webs of dierent widths. Upondisplacement of the support means 3 on the frame l to accommodate a webof a given width, the operator will provide a corresponding adjustmentof the cam 52 on the rotary shaft 2 by way of the groove 54, sothatvwhenever the lateral position of the support means 3 and all of thestructure carried thereby is changed, the operator, can also change theposition of the cam 52 so that it will coact properly with the lever 47in its new position laterally of the loom,

We claim:

1. In a loom having a first mechanism for braking the movement of ashuttle means at one end portion of the path thereof, a second mechanismfor sensing the timed arrival of the shuttle means at said end portionand for stopping the loom if the shuttle means is not sensed, drivemeans for returning said shuttle means along said path, and a thirdmechanism for controlling said drive means, the improvement whichcomprises:

(a) support means;

(b) an operating member mounted on said support means for back-and-forthmovement,

(l) said first mechanism including a brake member movably mounted onsaid support means for movement toward and away from a shuttle engagingposition, in which the brake member intercepts said movement of theshuttle means and brakes said movement while moving with the shuttlemeans,

(2) said second mechanism including a sensing member mounted on saidsupport means for movement toward and away from said end portion, andmeans responsive to a predetermined movement of the sensing membertoward said end portion for stopping said loom,

( 3) said third mechanism including a catch member guided on saidsupport means between respective positions in which the catch memberrestrains and releases said drive means;

(c) connecting means operatively connecting said sensing member and saidcatch member to said operating member for joint movement;

(d) a drive shaft; and

(e) cam means connecting said drive shaft to said brake member and saidoperating member for moving said operating member back and forth, whensaid drive shaft rotates,

1( 1) said operating member constituting the sole connection betweensaid drive shaft and said second and third mechanisms.

2. In a loom as set forth in claim 1, said support means including areed-carrying frame, said brake member, said sensing member, said catchmember, and said operating member being movably mounted on said frame,means for jointly shifting said members on said frame in the directionof said path, and for fastening them to the frame in the shiftedposition, said shaft extending in said direction, and said cam Ameansincluding a cam member releasably fastened to said shaft for adjustmentthereof in said direction.

References `Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 921,658 5/1909 Bachman 139-1443,330,305 7/'1967 Svaty et al 139-144 X 3,332,452 7/1967 Mzyk et al139-341 FOREIGN PATENTS 613,526 8/ 1926 France.

981,064 1/1951 France. 1,389,088 1/1965 France.

600,231 7/ 1934 Germany.

822,827 11/ 1951 Germany.

JAMES KEE CHI, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. XR. 139-155, 187, 341

